By the election of 1860, one topic dominated the nation: slavery.

For control of the northern electoral

votes the contest came down to only Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, although there were
two other candidates; Breckinridge and Bell. “The election of 1860 produced the second highest voter
turnout in U.S. history”, (Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, & Armitage, 2009, p. 398) due to the
importance of the issue at stake.

The seven Lincoln-Douglas debates for the 1858 Illinois senate seat were devoted to only the topic of
slavery and its future in the Union. These debates were so critical that they turned into community
events, bringing people in from all over the country. The citizens took on an increased role during these
debates by often shaping the contest. It was common for the two contestants to have to contend with
the crowds booing, cheering, and questions. Lincoln was running as a Republican and had the advantage
in northern Illinois, but Douglas as a Democrat held the advantage of the crowd in the south. Although
Douglas won the senate election, the success of Lincoln helped to cement the Republican Party as the
only party capable of defeating the Democrats and the spread of slavery. Another outcome of the
debates was the ability of the people of Illinois to gather peacefully to discuss a serious issue. The
debates “demonstrated the widespread public belief in commonality and community to resolve
disagreements” (Faragher et al., 2009, p. 380).

Although Abraham Lincoln’s wife came from a family of slave owners in Kentucky, he was solidly
committed to the freedom of the slaves and stopping its spread into the new territories. He believed
that the union had to be based on freedom, and that they were inseparable.

Stephen Douglas committed himself to popular sovereignty, where the states or territories themselves
would decide on the issue of slavery rather than congress. Pursuing this, and wishing to affect the
transcontinental railroad route, Douglas introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This act repealed the
Missouri Compromise and created Kansas and Nebraska. It also left the issue of slavery in those
territories up to their residents. His commitment was so strong that he rejected supporting a federal
slave code that would have ensured him the sole Democratic candidate seat for the election of 1860.

References:
Faragher, J., Buhle, M., Czitrom, D., & Armitage, S. (2009). Out of many: A History of the
American People (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.